


Keep it Down

by thewesterndoor



Series: Strange Neighbours [8]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Background Ereri, F/F, Fluff, Masturbation in Bathtub, Mutual Pining, crossed wires, noisy neighbors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:01:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23594248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewesterndoor/pseuds/thewesterndoor
Summary: When Ymir goes to yell at her noisy upstairs neighbours, she's blindsided by the angel who opens the door.  The angel who appears to have a boyfriend and a propensity for loud sex.  But things may not be as they seem...Part of a series of one-shots for different ships.
Relationships: Krista Lenz | Historia Reiss/Ymir, Levi/Eren Yeager
Series: Strange Neighbours [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1090296
Comments: 17
Kudos: 188





	Keep it Down

**Author's Note:**

> This came about because nekoshka had found some Snk fan art of Historia/Krista wearing the t-shirt mentioned in the fic, and we decided that it had to get worked into a fic. Sadly, neither of us could find the art again to link here but know it exists and is great! If you know who made the art lmk and I will happily update the notes to include that.
> 
> As ever, I have to give thanks to nekoshka for beta reading.

“Wow that’s loud. How long have they been going at it?”

Ymir tossed the last box of the day down onto the bare mattress and glared up at the ceiling.

“Almost the whole time we’ve been moving in minus a few breaks.”

When she looked over at Bertholdt, she caught his wince.

“I’m not sure whether I should be impressed or concerned,” he said.

From above they could hear the rhythmic thumping grow irregular as cries and whimpers rose up and then, on a long groan, it all ended.

“Thank fuck,” Ymir muttered.

She had been a resident of Proudwood Towers all of two hours and already she was wondering if she had made a terrible mistake. When her friends had first suggested they all move in together, Ymir had been deeply suspicious—sure, she  _ liked _ her friends, but  _ living _ with them?—but after the already steep rent on her previous place went up even further, it seemed like a decent stopgap until she could find something better. For a brief window after Bertholdt and Reiner had found the place, showing her a glossy brochure that had pictures of a pool and a gym, of large windows and tall ceilings, she had thought it might actually work. She’d even had the forethought to get the other two to sign an ironclad roommate agreement that eliminated most of her concerns. And then they’d started to move in…

How had she not even thought to ask about the neighbours?

“Maybe it’s just a…special occasion?” Bertholdt offered up unhelpfully..

“On a Tuesday afternoon? Really?” 

“Maybe it’s a special…Tuesday…?” Betholdt said before he shrugged. “I got nothing for you. But at least it’s not the middle of the night. Easy to plan around neighbours having loud day sex than trying to sleep through that at two A.M.”

Ymir glared at Bertholdt before she surveyed the piles of her belongings around her, looking for something light enough to throw. He was lucky that she liked her stuff too much to want to damage it on his stupid grinning face.

A quick knock at the door pulled their attention over to where Reiner was looming in the doorway, Annie just barely visible behind his mass of muscle.

“You guys want pizza yet? I’m starting to get hungry and Annie can’t find where the box of food went.”

He grunted as Annie shoved an elbow into his ribs and shoved him out of her way.

“Don’t act like it’s my fault. It was you two idiots who decided to put the food  _ into _ a box.”

“And how else were we going to move it all, Annie?” Reiner said.

Ymir could already feel her limited patience wearing thin, her hands balling up into fists by her side, though the others appeared oblivious.

“In bags?” Annie said, exasperation written all over her face. Sh shoved her blonde hair off her face and peered around Ymir’s new room. With a sigh, her mouth twisting into a frown, she said, “I can’t believe you’re getting the big room. I still think we should’ve fought for it.”

A laugh spilled out of Bertholdt and the other two turned to him.

“You actually dodged a bullet,” Bertholdt said between laughs, his shoulders shaking.

“What?” Annie’s cool eyes were suspicious as she looked around the room.

Bertholdt pointed one finger up towards the ceiling.

“We were just trying to figure out how familiar Ymir is going to get with our new neighbour’s sex life.”

“ _ What?” _ This time it was Reiner who spoke, his gaze boring up through the ceiling.

Ymir sighed and wondered what it was she had done to get herself tangled up with these idiots. She wasn’t a bad person, or at least not a  _ terrible _ one; she was definitely sure that she didn’t deserve this.

“I’ve had a soundtrack of neighbours fucking while I’ve been trying to bring my shit in,” she said.

Annie’s nose wrinkled in disgust and Reiner winced.

“Ohhh,” Reiner said, “That sucks. But maybe it was just the once. Or I guess you’ll probably get used to it quick. They make pretty good headphones now—all that noise cancelling shit.”

“Fuck. That.” Ymir stormed out of the room, shoving Reiner out of her way to march down the hall and over to the front door. She shoved her feet into sneakers and then flung the door open.

“You going to lay down the law?” Reiner called after her.

“Fuck yeah I am. There’s no way I’m going to let this be a…a thing.”

“Be nice!” Bertholdt yelled, followed by the snickering of Annie and Reiner.

It didn’t take long for Ymir to get up to the next floor. As she stepped out of the stairwell and looked up and down a hallway identical to the one she’d just come up from, she had a momentary flash of doubt. Was this actually a good idea? Would it be better to settle into the building and see if it actually was going to be a problem before she blazed in?

She squared her shoulders and steeled her nerves.

_ No, this is fine. This is  _ right.

She walked over to 2B and knocked on the door, mentally running through everything she would say. For the sake of her friends, she’d try to keep it civil, but she wouldn’t hold back. She’d say…

An angel opened the door.

Every single threat, every complaint that had built up over the past two hours of having to hear the noisy fucking, vanished as Ymir stared at the girl who’d opened the door. She was tiny, delicate and perfect like a doll, making Ymir feel oversized and awkward. Pale blonde hair was pulled back from her face into a messy bun. She was wearing the sort of expensive yoga outfit that Ymri always thought of as overrated, but as she looked at the way the leggings clung to the girl’s thighs and ass, the way the tank top hugged her breasts and skimmed her stomach, Ymir suddenly understood the appeal.

“Hi?” the girl said. A smile rose up onto her perfect lips, and Ymir’s heart actually stuttered.

“Hi.”

“Is there something I can help you with?”

“Uhh…” Ymir’s throat was thick, all of her rational thoughts overrun by the need to get the girl’s name. That smile only grew in wattage and Ymir’s heart actually lurched, even as a burn had started low in her stomach. The things she would do with those legs wrapped around her face…

“I just moved in,” Ymir said, hoping that sounded normal enough to hide the rapid fire fantasies that were whipping through her.

“Oh! Welcome! I’m Krista,” the blonde said, her blue eyes brightening so that they actually sparkled.

“Uh, I’m Ymir.”

Ymir dug her hands into the pockets of her shorts to stop herself from finding out whether the pale sweep of shoulder on display was as silky as it looked.

“Krista! Where’re my pants?” A male voice called out.

Krista turned and stepped back from the doorway to look at the person inside. When she moved, Ymir could see a guy of around her age, tall and tan, his hair disheveled. And completely naked.

“Eren! Company! God, can’t you put some clothes on?” Krista said.

The guy’s gaze swung up from the floor where he’d clearly been hunting for his missing clothes, and he yelped as his hand swung forward to hide his junk.

“Shit! Sorry!” he said as he darted back towards one of the interior doors.

Ymir’s thoughts started to slowly grind forward amidst her bemused disgust, and she realized that Krista’s pale skin had a flushed colour like she’d been doing something active.  _ Like she’d been having sex for a couple of hours? _

All of the warm buzzy thoughts abruptly ended.

Of course Ymir would meet her dream girl and she would have a boyfriend. She’d be straight. Because that was the sort of luck Ymir had. She had a near uncanny ability to pick out the straight girl in any crowd.

Krista had turned back to Ymir after the guy had fled. Her arms were folded across her chest in a way that pressed her breasts up and pulled the fabric of her top down a little further, exposing more of the soft swell of skin. She leaned against the door, a smile on her face.

If Ymir hadn’t just heard Krista getting fucked for the past couple of hours—and even seen her boyfriend’s dick—she might’ve melted at the sight.

“Sorry about that. Eren’s an idiot, but he’s totally harmless.”

Ymir hated how much affection was in Krista’s voice.

“Anything I can do for you?” Krista continued.

“No, just…just came to introduce myself.”

#

The moment Ymir was gone, Krista fell back against the closed door and pressed her hands to her cheeks. She felt like a schoolgirl in one of the shoujo mangas she pretended she’d outgrown, but she didn’t care. Her whole body was warm, her chest full to bursting, and it had nothing to do with the yoga she’d been doing seconds before Ymir had knocked on the door and sent her world spinning.

“You doing okay there?” Eren asked.

He’d re-emerged from his room, a pair of boxers pulled up over his hips though his chest was still bare.

“I’m in love.”

“Oh yeah?”

He walked over to the kitchen area and grabbed a glass from the cabinet. He quickly filled it from the faucet and then downed the water in messy gulps that sent water down his chin and onto his neck.

“You’re lucky Levi likes you,” Krista said, unable to draw her gaze away. It was a little like watching a Labrador drink.

Eren grinned as he filled up his glass again.

“Hey, I’m thirsty. Couch-surfers don’t have the right to comment.” He took a sip and then lifted one eyebrow. “Well…? You said you’re in love. With Tall Girl who just dropped by?”

“Ymir,” Krista corrected, her heart actually skipping a beat. “She said she just moved into the building.”

“Too bad you’re not going to be here for much longer, huh?”

Ten minutes ago, as Krista had finally started her yoga routine, no longer distracted by the sound of Eren getting railed, she’d been counting down until she could get a place of her own. It had already been three weeks of sleeping on Eren and Armin’s couch as she tried to find a new place that wasn’t a drug den or completely out of her price range. The initial relief of having somewhere to crash—even the enjoyment of being able to hang out with her friends more—had worn thin pretty quickly. But if she left now, would she get another chance to see Ymir?

“Yeah, I guess you’re right…”

Eren wiped his mouth on the crook of his arm and narrowed his green gaze on her.

“Don’t tell me you’re thinking of staying?”

The bedroom door creaked as it opened again, and this time it was Eren’s boyfriend who walked out. Unlike Eren, Levi’d had the decency to pull on a pair of sweats and what must’ve been one of Eren’s t-shirts with the way it hung loosely over his shoulders and chest.

“You sticking around longer, Reiss?” Levi asked.

Eren stuck the glass back under the faucet and then offered it up to Levi. The other man wrinkled his nose and gave Eren a withering look before he walked around him to the fridge and pulled out a Brita pitcher.

“My tap water not good enough for you?” Eren said with a pout before he pressed a kiss against the top of Levi’s head.

“I read the water testing report when I was looking at units in this building. There’s a reason why I chose the building next door,” Levi said, jerking his chin towards the window that faced onto another high-rise.

“Yeah, and it said that there’s nothing wrong with it. It just tastes a little funny is all.”

Levi levelled a cool look at Eren as he poured out his own glass of filtered water before he turned towards Krista.

“So, you’re staying?” 

Krista smiled a little nervously. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Levi, he was just…intimidating. He may’ve been only a little taller than her, but he exuded waves that screamed  _ grown up _ . It was a good contrast to Eren’s no-chill intensity, but she was still getting used to him. The other day she’d tried to make tea for them all, and she’d thought he was going to snap when she’d tossed the mugs into the microwave rather than bothering with the kettle.

“Well, I haven’t found a place yet so…yeah?”

Levi nodded as he took a sip.

“If you’d rather get off the couch, the brat and I can stay at my place for the next while. You can take his bed.”

“Hey, don’t just go giving away my bed!”

“Uh, thanks,” Krista said, “but I think I’ve been here long enough to know I don’t want to touch anything in that room. Never mind sleep in there.”

Levi shrugged. “Offer’s open. I’ll even make him wash the sheets.”

“No, the couch is fine, but thanks. I probably will have to stay for at least a few more weeks though.”

“So she can find a way to ask out the new neighbour,” Eren said with a knowing nod.

Krista felt her face go hot, but she didn’t have it in her to deny it. She walked over to the couch and sat down, drawing her feet up under her. Eren quickly joined her, dropping his feet onto the coffee table in front of them. He gave her a nudge with his elbow and smiled broadly.

“You got a plan?” he asked.

“No?”

“You need a plan!”

“Did you have a plan when you and Levi met?” Krista asked.

She heard a choked laugh from the kitchen and saw Eren’s face go a fascinating shade of red.

“Let’s talk about  _ you. _ Maybe you could hangout around the gym? Share a knowing look over a weight rack?”

Krista rolled her eyes and leaned back into the arm of the couch. She was pretty sure Eren was right about needing a plan, but as he continued to list out ideas ranging from screwball comedy set-up to porn premises, she knew that she was on her own to come up with one.

It was Levi who finally cut Eren off.

“You could just get her a housewarming present. You said she’s new to the building?”

Krista nodded fervently. She could do that. She could find something cute and friendly––something that would say ‘welcome to the building’ and ‘please make out with me’––but she was damned if she knew what that might be. What did people even buy for housewarming presents?

She turned towards where Levi had walked up beside the couch, pained exasperation on his face.

“You’re both hopeless aren’t you? Okay, tomorrow after work we can go find something.”

Krista smiled so hard it ached, but how could she not? She had a plan to see Ymir again and nothing was going to get in her way.

#

“Where are you going?” Ymir asked Reiner as he started to slip on his shoes to head out.

Reiner looked up from his laces and jerked his chin towards the ceiling.

“I’ve gotta go talk to the neighbours.”

“Oh?” Ymir’s chest clenched at the mention of the goddess upstairs, though she tried to keep her tone casual.

“Yeah, last night it sounded like they were hosting a bowling tournament up there. Bertholdt and I kept trying to just turn up the sound on Ultimate Beastmaster, but there’s only so high you can go.”

“And you didn’t think to go, oh, I don’t know…last night?”

Reiner finished tying his laces and opened the door.

“Well, it was late, and it would’ve felt rude…”

“Rude like making super loud noises late at night?”

A flush crept up Reiner’s face and his mouth settled into an embarrassed grimace.

“Yeah, but…it just…”

“Y’know, Reiner,” Ymir said carefully, trying not to force her hand. “If you want,  _ I _ could go talk to them. Since I’ve been up there already. And you know that I have no problem being rude if it’ll get them to stop making noise while you’re watching Beastmaster.”

“ _ Ultimate _ Beastmaster.”

“Yeah, whatever. So, do you want me to go?”

Out of the corner of her eye, Ymir saw Annie walk out of her bedroom and pause. Ymir’s neck prickled with the weight of Annie’s gaze and she felt like a particularly interesting amoeba on a slide.

The week before, after she’d returned from upstairs, she’d tried to play it cool. There was no way she was going to tell her roommates that she’d completely forgotten to mention the noise. She also hadn’t mentioned Krista—the others were exactly the sort of idiots to ask loudly if Krista was the hot girl upstairs the moment they were introduced. And then Ymir would have to go through the whole process of moving again—possibly to a new country. But Annie was far too smart. All she’d needed was one look at Ymir before it was clear that she  _ knew _ something was up.

“Something going on?”

“I’m going up to talk to the neighbours,” Ymir said before Reiner could say anything.

He opened and closed his mouth a couple times before he simply nodded and stepped back from the door.

“Oh?” Annie said, wandering over to the kitchen. “You going to see that hot girl upstairs again?”

Ymir’s whole face went warm.

“She’s got a boyfriend.”

Annie’s smile was triumphant as she leaned against the counter.

“Wait? There’s a hot girl upstairs?” Reiner demanded, his gaze turning suspicious as it moved back to Ymir.

“Look, do you want me to go talk to the neighbours or not?” Ymir shoved Reiner away from the door and started to slip on her shoes.

“Well…I mean if the girl upstairs is cute…” Reiner said.

“Shut up. You have a boyfriend. And so does she.”

The thought of tiny, perfect Krista with the disheveled naked guy left an unpleasant taste in Ymir’s mouth.

“If she has a boyfriend then why do you want to go up there?” Annie asked, a grin pulling at her lips.

God, Annie looked so  _ mean _ when she was amused.

“I just…” Ymir sighed and tugged an elastic band off her wrist, shoving her hair into a scruffy ponytail and trying to buy time. But when she glanced up, Annie’s eyes were still locked on her like Ymir was a small prey animal. “She’s really pretty. And seemed really nice. Like, she just exudes this…this good girl vibe, and I…”

Annie waved towards the door like a queen dismissing her subject.

“Go. Clearly you need this. Go upstairs, educate the neighbours on common decency, and flirt with your straight girl.”

Reiner cleared his throat like he was about to speak, but at a glare from Annie he kicked off his shoes and slunk back to the couch. Annie smirked at him as she rummaged around in the cupboards. Ymir took that as her signal to go and hurried out.

Once she’d reached the second floor, she paused for a moment in front of Krista’s door, her hand hovering just in front of the wood. What if nobody was home? Worse, what if Krista wasn’t home and her boyfriend was?

Ymir shook her limbs out, trying to rid herself of the anxiety. She was being stupid. If it was the boyfriend, then she’d do exactly what she told Reiner and Annie she would—she’d tell him to stop making so much noise. It would be fine.

She rapped her knuckles against the door and waited for a moment of two, her heartbeat still too fast despite her pep talk. When the door finally opened, Ymir was greeted with the sight of pale blue eyes peering up at her and cupid’s bow lips drawing into a broad smile.

“Ymir!” Krista said.

Even just the sound of her name—the fact that Krista had remembered it—was enough to make Ymir’s stomach flutter.

“Uh, hi?”

“I was hoping I’d see you! Do you want to come in?” Krista pulled the door open wide and stepped out of the way.

Ymir swallowed hard but took a step over the threshold. Her gaze darted around the room as she tried to calm her racing thoughts and draw them away from how happy she was to see Krista. She’d only got a quick glance at the apartment last time and any impressions had been obliterated by the sight of the naked man in it, but this time Ymir was able to get a better look. It was the exact same layout as below, give or take a couch or chair. And, while it was tidy enough, it didn’t have the sort of look Ymir would’ve expected for Krista.

Krista gave off the vibe of someone who scoured Pinterest for decorating ideas––the type of person who would know all of the cheap hacks to make a rental look like something out of a magazine spread. It would involve handmade art and fairy lights and throw pillows sewn from salvaged vintage fabric. Instead, the room looked kind of…plain. Utilitarian. The only spot that had been given any attention was the milk-crate shelves where someone had lovingly alphabetized an impressive game collection.

“Would you like some coffee or something?” Krista said.

Ymir blushed at being caught inspecting the room and nodded. She actually hated coffee, but she’d happily drink a whole pot if it meant she could stay with Krista a little longer.

Krista bustled over to the kitchen and started to fill up the coffee maker, sneaking glances at Ymir. Each look set off a little explosion inside Ymir’s chest until she wasn’t sure she could stand it.

“Oh, I…I got you a housewarming present,” Krista said. She picked up a box wrapped in pale green paper from the counter and brought it over to where Ymir was still standing near the doorway.

“Thanks.”

Ymir stared at the box in her hands before she opened it up with unsteady fingers. She’d swear there was the slightest brush of fingers when Krista handed over the box, and she could feel warmth spreading up her hand.

When she pulled back the paper she saw some sort of cooking contraption.

“Oh…cool, a, uh, spiralizer?” she said, reading out the name on the side.

Krista’s face fell.

“Oh, shit. Sorry. You have one already? A friend told me they’re really good, for making zucchini noodles or something and…” Krista tucked her hair behind her ear and pressed her teeth into her bottom lip. “I got a gift receipt. You can exchange it or—”

“No, it’s great!” Ymir nearly winced at the desperate enthusiasm in her voice before she tried to dial it back. “Zucchini noodles sound good, and I definitely don’t have one. I think the most advanced thing the four of us have is my roommate’s pocket knife collection. They’re pretty impressive, but none of them can make zucchini noodles.”

Krista laughed, her eyes lighting up. Ymir allowed herself a moment to try to burn the sight into her brain. She wanted to remember the way Krista’s hair was sliding out of its messy braid, the way her black t-shirt stretched tight over her chest so that it took a moment for Ymir to even notice that there was writing on it.

“I like my men how I like my coffee,” Ymir read out without thinking.

Krista looked down and then laughed, her cheeks growing pink.

“Yeah, it’s—”

She was cut off by the door being flung open by the same guy from before. Reality crashed back down around Ymir with a painful twist through her stomach and a burn at her throat. She’d come up here like some lovesick fool. Even knowing that Krista wasn’t interested, Ymir had still allowed herself to pretend like maybe…

“I’ve gotta get going,” Ymir said.

“Oh, you sure? The coffee should be ready soon.”

Ymir nodded, her whole body going numb and her thoughts blank. All she knew that her hind-brain was telling her to get out there. Immediately.

“Raincheck? And thanks for the spiralizer.”

She hurried past the guy, nodding curtly, and then raced for the stairwell. It was only once she was inside her own place, shoving the spiralizer into a confused Reiner’s hands and then making a break for the safety of her bedroom, that Ymir realized she’d forgotten to mention the noise. Again.

#

Krista glared at Eren. She wasn’t sure what he’d done, but she  _ did _ know that a minute ago Ymir had been standing in front of her about to have some coffee, and now she was gone. The only thing that could’ve thrown off weeks of careful planning was Eren barging in.

“What?” Eren asked, squinting at her as he shucked off his coat and shoes.

“Could you just…” she ended on an inaudible noise, clenching her fingers into fists and looking desperately at the door.

“Oh!” Eren looked at the door and then back at Krista. “That was her, huh? She’s tall.”

“She’s perfect. And gorgeous. I want to cut myself on those cheekbones.”

Eren laughed, pressing his hand against the top of her head to ruffle her hair. He then went straight for the couch and sat down, grabbing one of the remotes.

“So how did it go?”

Krista joined him on the couch. She sighed and leaned back into the cushions, wishing she could just disappear into the shitty upholstery. How had this become her life? She’d actually delayed looking for a new place because of Ymir. Krista had chosen to continue sleeping on a couch that smelled like farts and Doritos so that she could see a girl who clearly had no interest in her.

“Terrible.”

The TV buzzed through a handful of channels as Eren stabbed a button on the remote before he finally settled on a rerun of M*A*S*H. She stared grimly at the faded colour as the theme song kicked in, leaning into Eren.

“Why are we watching this?” she asked.

“Because it’s classic TV. And it’s three o’clock in the afternoon. Nothing else is on unless you want to watch Guy Fieri, House Hunters, or NCIS.”

“Can’t we just watch Netflix or something?” 

“Shh, let the nostalgia of over the air TV soothe you.”

“There’s a man in a dress.”

“That’s Corporal Klinger. He wants to get sent home on an insanity charge so he wears women’s clothes.”

“And that’s funny? And not at all offensive?” she said, tilting her head up to see Eren’s face.

He grimaced a little before he sighed.

“Yeah, some of it hasn’t aged so well. But it still has some good points.”

“Like the relentless sexual harassment of senior officers who just happen to be women?”

Eren flicked the TV over to House Hunters and handed her the remote.

“You could’ve just said you wanted to watch something else,” he grumbled. “And I like it for the history, okay? Do you know how many people watched the finale? And it says a lot of important things about war.”

“Shhh,” Krista said, holding up a finger. “We’re about to find out how much that beachfront house in Key Largo costs.”

Eren groaned but he did shut up, and he even grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch to pass to her. When the show flipped to a commercial, he hit the mute button.

“So, come on. What happened?”

“Nothing.”

“What? You somehow lured her in here, and don’t think I haven’t noticed you wearing your lesbian talking-point shirt. How could nothing happen?”

Krista looked down at her shirt and the white script that sprawled across her chest. After weeks of lurking around the building––offering to go get Eren’s mail so she could hover near the mailboxes in her cutest top and the yoga pants that did a lot for her ass, or spending hours out at the pool in a bikini––she hadn’t so much as caught a glimpse of Ymir. Today had been her last ditch effort. She’d put on her lucky shirt—the one that made it abundantly clear where her tastes ran with the wording across the front and back saying ‘I like my men how I like my coffee/Nowhere near my vagina’—and lo and behold, Ymir had actually come to see  _ her. _ But then Ymir had vanished.

“She doesn’t like me. Or she’s straight. Probably both.”

Eren didn’t look convinced, but he stayed silent.

“I gave her the housewarming present,” Krista said.

“Oh yeah?”

“It was a disaster. Why did I let Levi convince me to get a spiralizer? She was clearly weirded out.” Krista pressed her palms against her face. She should’ve known that someone whose first suggestions for housewarming presents were cleaning supplies wasn’t a great person to get advice from.

“Nah, those are actually a great gift. Have you  _ tried  _ zucchini noodles? Total game changer,” Eren said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

Krista pulled her hands away to give him a pitiful look.

“Eren, she has  _ freckles. _ Did you  _ see _ them?”

“Yeah, I noticed.”

“Don’t they just make you want to…I don’t know, like kiss every one of them?”

He stroked one hand over her shoulder consolingly.

“It’s okay. Armin and I have accepted that you are now a permanent infestation in our apartment. You take as long as you need, just…maybe next time you’re in the bathtub, uh…”

Krista pulled away so she could turn and get a better look at Eren as he trailed off. His face was bright red and she suddenly had a horrifying suspicion of where this was going.

“So like, I totally get that you have certain needs—lady needs—like everyone else,” Eren continued, “But, just thought you should know that vibrations don’t exactly get muffled in a room that’s mostly tile.”

After staying at Eren and Armin’s for weeks, holding off on taking care of any of her ‘lady needs’, she’d finally grown a little desperate. She’d waited until one of the days where Levi had done his deep clean of the bathroom, chosen a time when everyone was out, and then pulled her waterproof vibrator out of the bottom of her bag. Thinking of Ymir’s freckles, the lean lines of her body, and her strong, tanned fingers, all while working her vibrator relentlessly over her clit, Krista had herself cumming far too easily. When she’d finally got out, Levi and Eren were watching something on the TV. The volume from their show had been loud enough that she’d hoped they were none the wiser, but clearly not.

Krista needed her own place, if only for a return to privacy. And so that she could maybe stop pining and get over this ridiculous crush.

“Did you  _ have _ to say something?” Krista groaned. “Couldn’t we have gone to our graves never having talked about this?”

Eren’s eyes went wide and he held up his hands.

“No, really it’s fine. I mean, we both totally understand. Sometimes you just got to jerk one—or I guess flick one out. Just, Levi was kind of mad because he’d cleaned the bathroom that day so he and I could use it. We can only have shower sex over here when he knows it’s been cleaned.”

That settled it. Krista needed to move immediately.

#

Annie stared up in obvious disgust at the ceiling, her lip curled and her blue eyes flashing. From above, Ymir could hear what had come to be the familiar sound of very athletic sex.

“Are you kidding me? They’re still going at it? I thought you talked to them,” Annie said.

Ymir tugged her headphones down, trying to avoid Annie’s gaze.

“Why aren’t you angrier?” Annie demanded. “Shouldn’t you be storming up there to tell them to shut the fuck up?”

“But headphones really have gotten to be so good. They can cut out all background noise, and I almost always have music playing anyways…”

Annie’s eyes went wide and she shook her head, her ponytail whipping from side to side.

“Oh, don’t tell me you went all the way up there—twice—and you never actually told them to be quiet. That spineless bullshit is not the Ymir I know. The only reason I was willing to move in—to live with Reiner and Bertholdt—is because I knew you’d keep them in line.”

It didn’t matter that Ymir had almost half a foot of height on Annie, the smaller girl was  _ terrifying _ when she was mad. She was actually terrifying all the time—especially for anyone who’d ever seen her training at the dojo—but mad, she was next level.

A groan from above pierced the silence, followed by the slam of a headboard. Ymir flinched and turned away from where Annie was still glaring at her. She shuffled over to her desk and started to flip through the Norton Anthology, waiting there like the bookmarked and annotated pages of The Horse Dealer’s Daughter were the most fascinating thing ever.

“Well?” Annie said, clearly unwilling to let Ymir wait her out.

“Sorry, can we talk later? I have to finish my paper—due tomorrow and I only have the outline done.”

Ymir’s triumph was short-lived as she heard Annie scoff and felt her walk over to snatch up the pages.

“Firstly, wouldn’t getting a little quiet actually  _ help _ you finish your paper? And secondly, don’t pull that bullshit with me. I’m not Bertholdt. I know you wrote your lit paper last week. You made me proofread it.”

_ Shit. _ Ymir had totally forgotten that fact. In the week since she’d last seen Krista––since she’d realized that she had no hope and needed to move on––she’d been working on autopilot. She was a total idiot for crushing this hard on a girl she’d seen only twice, and normally she’d have been able to move on a lot faster, but this time…

This time all she’d been able to do was drag herself out to classes and spend the rest of her days listening to Tegan and Sara, trying to ignore the regular noise of Krista and her boyfriend having sex.

Ymir turned away from the desk and flung herself face first onto her bed, burying her face into the duvet. Above her, she could still hear what had become a very familiar rhythm, and Ymir just hoped that Krista was enjoying it at the very least. It was with a certain bitterness that she’d realized, over the many occasions she’d had to listen to the two upstairs, that she only ever heard a  _ male _ voice. Krista was too sweet, too perfect, to be stuck with some douchebag who couldn’t be bothered to give her an orgasm.

“Okay, this is pathetic,” Annie said as she kicked Ymir’s leg. “Get up.”

“What?”

“You’re sitting here, having to listen to the girl you like get plowed—we’ve got to put a stop to this.”

Ymir turned her face to look at Annie, who glowered down at her.

“No, it’s fine, I—”

“Don’t even start with me. Consider this something we’re doing for all of us. Do you know how hard it is to study with all the stomping that happens upstairs? I’ve had to start studying at the library and you know how much I hate going there.”

Annie leaned forward to wrap her fingers around Ymir’s wrist and hauled her off the bed. It was actually kind of impressive considering the size difference between the two of them.

“Do I have to?”

A sigh of impatience cut through some of Ymir’s self-pity and she had the good grace to feel a wash of shame.

“Let’s go.”

Ymir trailed behind Annie out of her bedroom and over to the front door. 

“You’re going too?” Ymir asked as Annie slipped on a pair of flip-flops.

Annie actually rolled her eyes before pointing at Ymir’s shoes. Ymir shoved her feet into the sneakers and bent down to tie them up—anything to delay the moment when she had to walk upstairs.

“You clearly can’t be trusted with this task on your own.”

Once they were ready, Annie hearded Ymir out of the apartment and over to the stairwell. The whole walk she could feel her pulse thick in her neck, a miserable dread crawling along her back. Worst of all was the tiny spark of delight that couldn’t be completely doused at the thought of seeing Krista.

Ymir really was fucking hopeless. After they finally sorted out the noise problem, she needed to sit down and think about all of her life choices, because clearly she’d gone wrong somewhere.

It didn’t take long before they were outside Krista’s door, Annie’s brisk knocks echoing in the quiet hallway. Muffled by the door were the same noises that had been coming through the ceiling, though they abruptly cut off when Annie knocked again.

There was the sound of movement and then the door cracked open.

Ymir had prepared herself to see Krista looking flushed and dishevelled––she’d even prepared herself to see the boyfriend again, possibly naked––but when a different man opened the door, Ymir had no idea what to do.

“Yes?” he said, his voice sharp and curt.

Already Ymir was backing away from his furrowed brow and unflinching gaze. He gave off such an intense look of aggravation that it took Ymir a moment to even notice that he wasn’t wearing a shirt.

“We’re from downstairs,” Annie said, pushing Ymir out of the way. Despite her relaxed stance, Annie was exuding a ‘don’t fuck with me’ attitude that went toe to toe with the man at the door.

A light of recognition seemed to click in the man’s grey eyes, and his gaze darted between the two of them.

Annie blazed on ahead, lifting up her chin to glare across at the man.

“We’d like to talk to you about the noise.”

“Okay.”

Both girls bristled at his dismissive tone.

_ Fuck that. _

“Can you tell your roommate that we’re tired of having to listen to the sound of whatever fuck fest seems to happen on the regular here?” Ymir snarled.

Instantly she regretted it. This smug prick definitely deserved it, but Krista didn’t deserve to be called out like this. It wasn’t her fault that she’d been able to unknowingly smash Ymir’s heart.

“Oi, you shitty brat!” At first Ymir thought the man was talking to her, but realized a second later, when she heard stumbling footsteps, that he was calling to someone back in the apartment.

It didn’t take long before the boyfriend had shambled out of one of the bedrooms. His hair was a finger-combed mess and his chest and neck were covered in bite marks, but at least this time he was wearing some shorts slung low on his hips.

“What’s up?”

Ymir struggled not to look at the partially cracked bedroom door, wondering if Krista was spread out on a bed just beyond. It was something she would give her soul to see, but not like this.

“Eren, you’re being too loud.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault. If you want me to keep it down, you need to stop doing that thing with your fingers…” Eren trailed off as he suddenly noticed Annie and Ymir in the doorway. His green eyes grew round and his cheeks went pink. “Oh. Uh. Hey.”

Annie fixed a vicious glare on him, emanating fire and murder. Eren flinched for a second, but then his attention moved onto Ymir.

“Freckles!” he said, pointing in Ymir’s direction, a smile rising up on his face. He turned to the other man. “Levi, this is Freckles—the new neighbour Krista’s been talking about.”

Ymir's heart slammed against her ribcage at the mention of Krista’s name. The other man—Levi—gave her a curious look.

“It’s  _ Ymir. _ ” 

Eren laughed as he closed in behind Levi and wrapped one arm around his chest, dropping his chin on top of Levi’s head.

“I think I knew that,” Eren said, “but Krista kept going on and on about your freckles. I don’t know how many different fantasies I had to hear about what she’d do to them before she finally moved off the couch.”

“You really think she’d want you telling Freckles that?” Levi asked.

Eren blanched. “Oh shit. Don’t tell her I told you.”

Ymir felt overwhelmed with the information burst. What was even going on? There were pieces that felt like they were important, but it took a long moment before she was able to actually see the way they all fit together––to step back and actually see the picture.

“You’re not Krista’s boyfriend?” she said.

Eren shook his head adamantly.

“No!”

“And she…she talked about me?”

“Yes? Only like all the fucking time. I think she was really bummed when she finally found a place of her own and moved out, because she wasn’t going to be able to see you anymore.”

“She moved?”

Levi made a noise of disgust, pulling out of Eren’s arms and pushing him backwards into the apartment. He swept all of them with a glare.

“You,” he snapped, pointing at Eren, “put on some pants. And learn to walk more quietly. You get kicked out of this building, I’m not letting you move in with me. Not until you can learn to live like the adult you are.” He turned next to Annie. “You. Any other issues, let me know and I’ll sort the brat out. And you,” he said to Ymir. “Yes, Krista has a crush on you. No, she doesn’t live here. Yes, you should go see her. All good?”

Before anyone had a chance to answer, he closed the door in Annie and Ymir’s faces, leaving them staring at the wood in stunned silence.

“Wow, what an asshole,” Annie grumbled.

She looked over at Ymir, but Ymir could only nod distantly.  _ Krista likes me. Krista. Likes. Me. Kristalikesme. _

The thought was running over and over through her mind, each time setting off a new pulse of warmth.

Krista liked her. And Ymir needed to go see her.

“But where is she living now?” she mumbled.

As if in answer to her question, the door opened up a crack and Eren shoved one tan arm through the doorway, pressing a piece of notebook paper into her hands. On it was scrawled an address.

“Go get her, Freckles!” Eren said with a wink before he closed the door again.

There was another minute or two where the girls were left alone in the hallway, Ymir staring at the paper, before the door opened up again. This time it was Levi’s pale face and steely gaze looking out.

“A housewarming gift is a great excuse to go over.”

#

It hadn’t seemed possible, but Krista actually missed Eren’s apartment. She sat cross-legged on the floor where her couch would go, once she could afford to buy one, and took a swig from her beer. For all her complaining about Eren and Armin’s shitty couch, at least it was actual furniture. In the three days since she’d moved out, Krista had been able to get her bed, desk, and kitchen supplies out of storage, but everything else she needed to buy.

She flopped onto her back and stared up at the popcorn ceiling, tracing the lines of an old water stain and trying to figure out why she wasn’t happier. This was a place of her own—a chance to get away from constantly hearing Eren and Levi have sex, to finally have some privacy—but instead of liberated, she just felt a bit lonely. 

And there was no Ymir.

Krista rolled over onto her side and reached for her laptop. With a few quick clicks she queued up an episode of M*A*S*H, and the opening bars of the theme song started to play. She would never admit it to Eren, but there was something soothing about the sitcom. All of her arguments still stood, but seeing everyone at the 4077 th railing against war and saving lives was…well, it was a satisfactory distraction. She just wished she knew when this pining would end. When would she be able to move on and…

Burying her face into the crook of her arm, Krista groaned.

“I’m an idiot,” she said to the empty apartment. She was acting like this was some grand romance, rather than seeing a girl all of twice—and never for more than five minutes.

She turned up the volume, hoping the show and laugh track would drown out her thoughts. When it did nothing, she pushed herself up and walked over to the pile of boxes that were stacked next to the doorway of the galley kitchen. She’d start on the chaos of her apartment, get it all in order, and  _ then _ she’d be able to sort out the chaos of her life. Because it definitely worked that way.

The tape made a satisfying ripping noise as she peeled it back, and quickly she was wrist deep in winter clothes—though the box was clearly labelled as baking supplies. When she examined the scrawl, she realized it was Eren’s writing. She was  _ never _ asking him to help her pack or move again.

It didn’t take long for Krista to find a rhythm, opening up the boxes and starting to ferry the stuff around to the new spots it would live. Occasionally she’d pause and go over to her laptop to start a new episode, but mostly she just kept working. Gradually her place started to look more like someone actually lived there—it was a mess that made Eren’s room look organized, but at least it didn’t scream vacant anymore, and best of all the rhythm of the work managed to numb her brain until she wasn’t thinking about anything.

A knock at the door finally pulled Krista back into herself. She stared at the door for a moment, wondering who it was. She’d already met everyone in the building over the previous couple of days, and no one had called to say they were coming over.

She hurried over to the door and peered out through the peephole. Her limbs turned to stone and her body caught fire.

_ Ymir. _

It had to be a figment of her imagination. Three days on her own, and already her mind was starting to conjure apparitions to stave off the loneliness. It was a sign that she needed to go back on Tinder. Or get a cat.

Slowly, her fingers shaky with the racing of her pulse, Krista pulled the security chain and opened the door. Out in her hallway was Ymir.

“Hi,” Krista said.

A shy smile spread across Ymir’s face, quickly hidden by a bolder smirk.

“Hi,” Ymir said.

Krista’s thoughts stalled. What should she do? Was it weird to invite her in? Ymir had never stuck around long, but surely it would be weirder  _ not _ to.

“You want to come in?”

“Sure!”

Ymir followed her inside, and Krista winced at the mess.

“Sorry, you caught me in the middle of unpacking…” She trailed off as a box wrapped in newspaper was thrust into her hands. She stared at it blankly before looking up at Ymir.

“It’s a housewarming gift,” Ymir said, a flush rising up under freckles. It was the most fucking adorable thing Krista had ever seen and all of her resolve melted. “I have it on good authority that they’re required for situations like this.”

“Situations like this?”

Krista watched as Ymir’s throat worked, her long fingers balling up only to stretch out again. Finally Ymir nodded.

“Yeah, when you’re trying to find an excuse to visit the person you have a crush on.”

Krista’s heart stopped. Her whole world exploded into vapour at Ymir’s words, only to start rebuilding itself into the sort of hopeless fantasy she’d been trying to drag herself out of.

“A crush?” she said hesitantly.

Ymir’s chin rose up a little higher before she nodded again.

“Yeah.”

Krista’s fingers clenched the box tightly and she had to work to keep her breathing even.

“I thought…you didn’t seem all that interested. I mean, I’d been trying to…but you just…”

The pink in Ymir’s face grew darker.

“I thought that guy—Eren—was your boyfriend.”

“Eren?” Krista shuddered at the thought. It’s not that her friend wasn’t cute, but it would be like dating a brother or a cousin. “ _ He _ has a boyfriend.”

“Yeah, I finally figured that out the other day. They cleared things up and gave me your address. Though now that I think about it I probably shouldn’t have come. It’s weird, right? And… I have this terrible luck with women, and I just assumed that  _ of course _ you would have a boyfriend and just be this gorgeous, nice girl who lived near me. And when they told me that...Um, I’ll leave.”

Krista was stunned at the wave of words pouring out of Ymir, each one echoing with a sort of misery that felt oddly comforting in the way it mirrored her own. Clearly she was not the only idiot.

“You know, you still owe me for that coffee you bailed on,” Krista said.

“Yeah, I do.”

“I haven’t been able to find my coffeemaker yet, but…do you want to go somewhere?”

Ymir’s smile was brilliant, her eyes shining, and warmth swirled tighter and tighter in Krista’s chest. If she were in a shoujo, it would’ve been a moment for a background of roses, or sparkles. Something to capture how close she felt to exploding with joy.

“Maybe we could make it dinner?’

Krista didn’t have to think before she blurted out, “Yes!”

She hurried to grab her shoes and purse. As she followed Ymir out the door, Krista glanced down at the gift still in her hands and set it down on one of her moving boxes.

“What is it?” Krista said.

Ymir’s eyes glittered and her smile turned cheeky in a way that made Krista want to kiss her lips—made her hope that she would get to kiss them before the date was over.

“It’s a spiralizer.”

* * *

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for leaving kudos/commenting!
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr at thewesterndoor


End file.
